Why Study French at IU Southeast?

Official language of the United Nations, NATO, the European Union and the Olympics, French is a language of world-wide reach that will greatly enhance your job prospects in any field with an international bent, which in our global society is just about any field you may choose. The French-speaking world is ethnically and racially diverse, rich in historical and cultural contrasts and offers a panorama of perspectives on the human condition. From the beaches of the South Pacific to the arctic areas of Canada, from the Caribbean basin to the desserts of North Africa, from the Parisian suburbs to the plains of central Africa, and from the rice paddies of Indochina to Europe’s highest Alpine peaks, French is a language that will open doors for meaningful careers and enriching personal exploration.

The longstanding historical connections between the English- and French-speaking worlds and the languages they speak make French an excellent choice as an initial second language for Americans. French was the language of the ruling class in England for over 300 years, and the intertwining of French and English and their long-lasting effects one upon the other remain evident today. As such, studying French will not only provide access to diverse Francophone cultural realities and open up many more opportunities for significant global connections, it will also better equip you to explore the history and exploit the potential of the English you speak. Add to this well over a thousand years of both close partnership and passionate disagreement, and you have a winning ticket for a fascinating and enriching intellectual journey.

The IU Southeast French program strongly supports the development of our students’ language skills and of their knowledge of Francophone cultures around the globe, both through on campus coursework and activities and through an array of study abroad opportunities. Course offerings provide ample opportunities for the growth of an individual’s language abilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing while also providing avenues for exploring the history, literature, artistic expression, institutions, and day-to-day cultural reality of societies for which French is a central medium of communication. The IUS French program is committed to offering students the core courses they require to graduate in a timely fashion, while providing options that allow students to explore areas of personal interest. We are also fully engaged in encouraging and assisting our students to seek out opportunities to live, study and/or work in French-speaking cultures as a part of their fundamental educational experience. We seek to foster a learning community both inside and outside the classroom that will empower our students to function more effectively in any number of professional fields with a Francophone connection.

Modern Language Programs

Graduates of foreign language study can expect to find enhanced opportunities for employment in a wide variety of fields, including among others education, business, law, travel and tourism, public and political service, advertising, and international relations. The ability to communicate in another person’s language and to understand and appreciate cultural differences that characterize another person’s life experience, the ability to act as a conduit for translating and transmitting this information to others, the ability to operate in another person’s cultural space with confidence, these are skills that will provide you with an inestimable edge in a job market in which more global fluency will lead directly to more opportunity. Speaking another person’s language and possessing a mind practiced in viewing the world through the lens of another’s cultural reality will command a degree of respect and elicit a level of intimacy that a monolingual will never be able to match.

F100-F150 Elementary French I-II (4-4 cr.)
Introduction to French language and selected aspects of French civilization and culture. Attendance in the language lab may be required.

F200-F250 Second-Year French I-II (3-3 cr.)
Grammar, composition, and conversation coordinated with the study of expository, literary, and cultural texts. Attendance in the language lab may be required.

F300 Lectures et analyses littéraires (3 cr.)
Preparation for more advanced work in French literature. Readings and discussions of one play, one novel, short stories or essays, and poems.

F305 Chefs-d'oeuvre de la littérature française I (3 cr.)
Drama and literature of ideas. Dramatists such as Corneille, Racine, Molière, Beaumarchais, and Sartre; essayists and philosophes such as Descartes, Pascal, Voltaire, Diderot, and Camus. Lectures and discussion in French.

F363 Introduction à la France moderne (3 cr.)<
The development of French culture and civilization in the twentieth century, with an emphasis on the events which shaped modern France, the structure of daily life, and its institutions.

F375 Thèmes et perspectives littéraires (3 cr.)
Study of a specific subject or theme, such as society and the individual, the tragic hero from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, comedy, and satire. All work in French.

F396 Foreign Study in French (1-6 cr.)
Credit for foreign study in French language or literature when no specific equivalent is available among departmental offerings. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.